Person:William Barnes (125)

One listing says that William was born at Jamesport, Daviess County, Missouri. [Jay S. Andrews, History of Bloom, Kansas, 1963] Note that William's daughter, Neva (Barnes) Clevenger, appears to have had input into articles on the Barnes and Clevenger families in Jay Andrew's book. Neva had written articles for newspapers in Dodge City and Bucklin.

William and Evelyn "Eva" Barbara Dowell were married 26 Feb 1884 by Brother Bain, a Baptist minister, at the home of Eva's parents located 8 miles northwest of Chillicothe in Livingston County, Missouri, in a ceremony held about 7:00 p.m. by lamp light. Those present included Eva's mother and father, John A. Dowell and Judith (Jared) Dowell, Eva's brothers, Dave, Alex, Cal, & Strauther, William's parents, William's brother, George, and his sister, Mollie. [From notes of William's sister, Mollie Barnes Gauld]

In Jun 1896, William & Eva's son, Jesse, was born between Fort Steele and Saratoga in Carbon County, Wyoming. (Per Jesse's death certificate according to his daughter Jerri (Barnes) Hawkes.) Note that William's brother, George, had a daughter (Georgia) born there in May of that same year. What were they doing there? The answer could be with George's wife, Rosie, whose father, Henry A. Kincaid, was living in Saratoga at that time. Henry was buried there in 1908.

In 1901, William and Eva lived in the vicinity of Haven (Reno County) and Mount Hope, Sedgwick County, Kansas located near one another. Their daughter Vera was born at Mount Hope in 1901. This is another case when William and his brother George lived near one another. George's sons, Ray and Harry, were born at Mount Hope in Jan 1900 and Aug 1902.

In 1903, William and family moved to Ford County, Kansas and farmed 320 acres located directly south of the town of Kingsdown, Kansas which is about 20 miles southeast of Dodge City.

On May 31, 1904 a powerful storm moved into the Kingsdown area. At that moment William was plowing in the fields and could not make it back to the house before the storm hit. As the storm and winds arrived Eva could feel the house moving. It was in fact, a tornado. Eva quickly ran outside with the children and laid on the ground bracing their feet in a wagon rut and held onto the grass with their hands. The house was blown to pieces by the tornado, but they were all unhurt. Afterward, some of the children wanted to return to their former home near Mount Hope. They instead moved in with the Tom Ellis family while William and others built a large home with three levels. [The 1916 Ford County plat book shows that Geo. T. Ellis owned land, in Section 20, that adjoined 320 acres owned by W. B. & E. B. Barnes in Section 19.] Barnes family notes say that part of their house destroyed by the tornado was used on the new house which was built on their land on a knoll located about 1/2 mile south of Kingsdown. William and Eva's granddaughter Waneta Weddle said that the family stored their sugar and flour in the attic of this house. (Photos of these 2 houses are shown here.) In 2003, Kingsdown resident John F. Scott said that the big house was located on a small hill, and when he last saw the house, which was probably in the late 1940's, it was abandoned. John thinks that by 1950 all evidence that the house ever existed was gone.

William Barnes helped build the first grain elevator in Kingsdown and is said to have also managed a grain elevator. William helped build the original Presbyterian Church in Kingsdown (1905) and a family story states that he built the pews for the next church building. When the First Presbyterian Church of Kingsdown was organized on July 30, 1905, Wm. B. Barnes, Mrs. Eva Barnes and their son Albert Barnes were listed among its 16 charter members. Daughter Neva (Barnes) Clevenger wrote that William also built the Kingsdown Hotel building, a store there for O. O. Sheely, a storage building and the post office. (Jay S. Andrews, "History of Bloom, Kansas," pg. 85, Prairie Printers Inc., Colby, Kansas, 1967.)

A story told by William's nephew, E. Harry Barnes (1902-1973) of Wichita, Kansas relates, "I had a wealthy uncle, William Barnes, who lived near Kingsdown, Kansas and died at a young age. A large amount of wheat had been piled along the railroad tracks at Kingsdown because there was no more room in the grain elevator. After a length of time the wheat left in piles had not been sold and the owner(s) of the wheat felt that the wheat had been exposed to the weather for too long and was therefore damaged. William Barnes made a bid and purchased the wheat. William scraped the crust off of the wheat and it was judged to be in excellent condition. William sold the wheat for a large profit."

William's death certificate indicates he died at 4:00 p.m. October 28, 1912 at his residence located at 229 West 9th Street in Hutchinson. He was 47 years old. The old house is now gone and just a vacant lot remains on this southeast corner of 9th and Jefferson Streets. Family notes, possibly originating from their daughter Neva Clevenger, say that William died of typhoid. This differs considerably from the death certificate which says the cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage, which had a duration of 4 hours, with insular sclerosis contributing, a condition lasting 3 years. Cerebral hemorrhage is defined as a ruptured blood vessel in the brain, often associated with high blood pressure. A simplified definition of sclerosis is a hardening of an organ or tissue, and insular simply means multiple. The attending physician was H. J. Duvall, M. D., who wrote that he treated William from October 20th to October 28th. The informant listed was G. R. Barnes, which would certainly seem to be William's brother, George R. Barnes.

William was buried in Sodville Cemetery at Kingsdown, Ford County, Kansas. He and Eva share the same huge, ornately carved headstone, which is at least 6 1/2 feet tall. Waneta (Clevenger) Weddle, daughter of Neva (Barnes) Clevenger, said that family members chose this style of marker from one they'd admired in a Hutchinson cemetery. A photo of this marker is shown here.

Family notes state that William and Eva Barnes donated the land for the cemetery at Kingsdown (Sodville Cemetery). The 1916 Sodville Twp., Ford County, Kansas land plat shows W. B. Barnes as the owner of the property where the cemetery is located.

The inventory and appraisal valuation of the estate of William B. Barnes was $34,589.80. The estate consisted of personal property and real estate described as:

Personal property.................$1,839.80 Included no automobile, but 1 double-seated surrey, 1 wagon, 2 cows (no horses listed), 1 parlor set, 3 bedroom sets, 1 folding bed, 2 heating stoves, 1 cook stove, 1 gasoline stove, davenport lounge, kitchen utensils, dishes and silverware, linen and bed clothing.

Ford County SE 1/4, 18-29-22 (160 acres)......................$9,000.00 E 1/2, 19-29-22 (320 acres).......................$12,800.00 SW 1/4, 19-29-22 (160 acres)......................$6,200.00

Barnes Addition to Kingsdown Lots 1-12, block 1 Lots 4-8, block 2 Lots 11-12, block 3 Lots 1-6, block 4 Lots 1-6, block 5 Lots 1-12, block 6 Lots 1-12, block 7 Lots 1-4, block 8 Lots A, B, C, and D, 2 and 4, block 3, Original Town of Kinsdown Lots 2 and 4, Block 6, Town of Kingsdown Total of Kingsdown real estate.....................$4,750.00

After debts and administration expenses, the net value of the William B. Barnes estate was $32,180.00. (Findings and order of the inventory and appraisal of the estate of William B. Barnes, Feb. 5, 1914) (Note that $32,180.00 in 1914 is equal to $738,000.00 in 2012)

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Find A Grave.

   William B. Barnes

2.   Unknown newspaper (Hutchinson County, Kansas)
   p. 7, 29 AOct 1912.

   W. B. Barnes has been seriously ill at his home in Hutchinson. His brother, George Barnes and son Albert Barnes, of Kingsdown, were called to his side.

3.   Unknown newspaper (Hutchinson, Kansas)
   30 Oct 1912.

   Took Remains To Kingsdown - Wm. B. Barnes, Prominent Nazarene Worker, Is Dead. Wm. B. Barnes, a retired farmer who some time ago moved his family to Hutchinson, to educate his children at the Holiness bible school, died yesterday after a short illness.
   
   The remains were taken to Kingsdown, the family's old home, yesterday, where the funeral occurred. Mr. Barnes was prominent as a worker in the Nazarene church.